Convertible bed

ABSTRACT

A convertible bed for use in a dwelling of limited floor space, such as a travel trailer, camper or boat. The bed is supported from the ceiling of the dwelling by a series of cables and is movable between an upper storage position adjacent the ceiling to a lower sleeping position. One pair of cables is attached to the rear side edge of the bed, while a second pair of cables are attached to the ends of the bed, but spaced from the front side edge. To raise the bed from the lower sleeping position to the storage position, the front edge of the bed is depressed, causing the bed to pivot about the connection of the end cables to the bed, thereby tilting the rear side edge of the bed upwardly above the level of supports mounted on the walls of the dwelling. With the rear edge of the bed located above the level of the supports, the bed is pushed to the rear and the front edge is elevated to the storage position and locked in the storage position by means of slide bolts.

United States Patent 1 Ratclifi CONVERTIBLE BED lnventor: John W.Ratclil'f, RR. 1, Marengo, 111. 60152 Primary Examiner-Paul R. GilliamAttorney--Andrus, Sceales, Starke & Sawall 1 Nov. 20, 1973 57 ABSTRACT Aconvertible bed for use in a dwelling of limited floor space, such as atravel trailer, camper or boat. The bed is supported from the ceiling ofthe dwelling by a series of cables and is movable betweenan upperstorage position adjacent the ceiling to a lower sleeping position. Onepair of cables is attached to the rear side edge of the bed, while asecond pair of cables are attached to the ends of the bed, but spacedfrom the front side edge. To raise the bed from the lower sleepingposition to the storage position, the front edge of the bed isdepressed, causing the bed to pivot about the connection of the endcables to the bed, thereby tilting the rear side edge of the bedupwardly above the level of supports mounted on the walls of thedwelling.'With the rear edge of the bed located above the level of thesupports, the bed is pushed to the rear and the front edge is elevatedto the storage position and locked in the storage position by means ofslide bolts.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PMENTEDNUVPOIQH 3.772.716 SHEET 2 CF 2INVENTOR. JOHN W RATCLIFF Attorneys CONVERTIBLE BED BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed toan auxilliary bed for a dwelling of limited floor space in which the bedcan be moved directly between the storage position to a sleepingposition without the necessity of folding or extending components of thebed. As associated with a travel trailer, the bed extends across thewidth of the trailer, and in the lowered or sleeping position, issupported from the ceiling by a series of flexible cables or chains. Onepair of cables is attached to the rear edge of the bed, while a secondpair of cables is attached to the ends of the bed, but spaced from thefront edge. In the lowered position, the bed is locked to the walls ofthe trailer by slide bolts or other locking mechanism.

To elevate the bed to the storage position, the front edge of the bed istilted downwardly, causing the bed to pivot about the connection of theend cables to the bed and thereby elevating the rear edge of the bedabove the level of supports which are mounted on the trailer walladjacent the rear edge of the bed. With the rear edge of the bed tiltedto a position above the supports, the front edge of the bed can then bepushed upwardly and moved to the rear so that the rear end of the bedwill be supported on the supports. The front edge of the bed is thenlocked in the storage position by means of slide bolts or other lockingmechanism.

The convertible bed of the invention can be stored as a unit without thenecessity of folding the bed or contracting components of the bed. Thisprovides a distinct advantage in that it is not necessary to remove thebedding when moving the bed to the storage position, nor is it necessaryto fold or remove the mattress.

The bed can be readilymoved between the storage and sleeping position bya single person and as the bed is stored flat against the ceiling it isin an out-of-the-way location where it will not interfere with otheractivities in the travel trailer or dwelling.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the followingdescription.

The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carryingout the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a travel trailerincorporating the convertible bed of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the bed as shown in the lowered position;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the bed in the lower position with partsbroken away in section;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section showing the bed in the lower position;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the bed in the storageposition;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the forward-most beam andshowing the locking mechanism; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation showing the supportingcable.

FIG. ll shows the convertible bed of the invention as associated with atravel trailer 2. While the drawings illustrate the bed associated witha travel trailer, it is contemplated that the bed may be utilized in anydwelling of limited floor space such as a camper, boat, cabin, aircraft,or the like.

The travel trailer 2 includes a pair of side walls 3 and 4, an end wall5, and a ceiling 6 which is connected to the upper ends of the sidewalls and end wall. The bed 1 is mounted so that the long dimension ofthe bed extends between the side walls 3 and 4 of the trailer and therear edge of the bed is located adjacent the end wall 5.

The bed' itself includes a series of beams or supports 7, which extendsin spaced parallel relation along the length of the bed, and the beamsare connected together by a rigid base 8, formed of plywood, wallboard,or the like, which is secured to the upper surface of the beams. Asshown in the drawings, the beams are fabricated of tubular steel stock,but it is contemplated that the beams or supports 7 can take variousforms. A matress 9, formed of foam plastic, or the like, is supported onthe base 8.

Extending upwardly from front beam 7 are a series of tubular verticalsupports 10, and a front face board 11 is secured to the verticalsupports 10. The face board 11 has a height such that it extends abovethe level of the mattress 9, and when the bed is in the upper storageposition, as shown in FIG. 6, the upper edge of the face board will beadjacent the ceiling so that the matress and any bedding will not bevisible. The ends of the beams 7, as well as the ends of the verticalsupports 10, are enclosed by plastic caps 12.

In accordance with the invention, the bed I is supported from theceiling 6 when in the lowered or sleeping position by a pair of rearcables or chains 13 and a pair of front cables or chains 14. As bestillustrated in FIG. 2, the rear cables 13 are connected to theprojecting ends of the rearmost beams 7 while the front cables 14 areattached to the projecting ends of the second beam 7 from the front ofthe bed. To provide the attachment of the cables 13 and 14 to the beams,eyelets 15 are secured to the beam ends, and the lower ends of thecables are provided with snap hooks 16 which engage the eyelets.Similarly,.the upper ends of the cables are provided with snap books 17which are adapted to engage eyelets secured to the ceiling 6. The use ofthe snap hooks enables the cables and the bed to be removed from thetravel trailer if desired.

In the lowered or sleeping position, the bed is supported by the cables13 and 14 and the bed can be prevented from swinging in a fore and aftdirection by engagement of slide bolts 19 with openings 20 formed in theside walls 3 and 4. As best illustrated in FIG. 2, each slide bolt 19 ismounted for sliding movement within a tube 21 mounted between the legsof a U-shaped member 22 secured to the forward beam 7. A stem 23 issecured to each slide bolt and projects outwardly through a slot 24 inthe tube 21, and the outer end of stem 23 carries a hand knob 25 to begrasped by the operator.

The slide bolts 19 are of standard construction and can be moved to theengaged position and locked therein by engagement of the stem 23 with anotch 26 that is connected to slot 24.

To elevate the bed to the upper storage position the front edge of thebed is pushed or tilted downwardly, as illustrated in FIG. 4, causingthe bed to pivot about the connection of the front cables 14 with thebeams and thereby tilting the rear edge of the bed upwardly to aposition where the rear beams 7 will be above the level of the supports27 which are secured to the side walls 3 and 4 adjacent the end wall 5.As shown in FIG. 4, the supports 27 are generally horizontal and have alength such that they will not interfere with upward pivotal movement ofthe rear edge of the bed. The are inscribed by the rear edge of the bedas it pivots upwardly will clear the forward end of the supports 25.

With the rear beam 7 located above the supports 27, the front edge ofthe bed is then pivoted upwardly and the bed is pushed rearwardly sothat the rear beam 7 will slide rearwardly along supports the 27 towardthe end wall 5. With the bed flatwise adjacent the ceiling 6, slidebolts 19 can then be engaged with openings 28 in the side walls 3 and 4to hold the front edge of the bed in the storage position. As shown inFIG. 6, in this position the cables 13 and 14 are slack.

As shown in FIGS. 3-S, the forward edge of each support 27 is providedwith an upstanding lip 29 which prevents the rear beam 7 from slidingoff of the supports when the front end of the bed is tilted downwardly.

To lower the bed from the storage position, the slide bolts 19 arereleased and the front edge of the bed is permitted to drop until thecables 14 are taut. The front edge of the bed can then be depressed,causing the rear edge to pivot upwardly so that the rearmost beam 7 willclear the lips 29 when the bed is pulled forwardly. The rear edge canthen be lowered until the bed is in the horizontal sleeping position.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the bed is in the upper storage position, theupper edge of the faceboard 1 l is adjacent the ceiling, so the mattressand other bedding is not visible to occupants of the trailer. Moreover,the exposed beams 7 on the lower surface of the beds, in combinationwith the base 8, provide a beam ceiling effect which has an attractiveappearance.

The convertible bed of the invention stores flat against the ceiling ina position where it will not interfere with normal activities in thetrailer or other dwelling. The bed can have a substantial width and asit is stored as a unit, the necessity of folding or retracting any ofthe components of the bed is eliminated. The bedding can be maintainedon the bed while it is in the storage position and this is a substantialadvantage in that the removal and replacement of bedding not onlyrequires considerable time, but additional storage space is required forthe bedding, and storage space is normally at a premium in a traveltrailer or other dwelling of limited floor space.

By use of the tilting principal, the bed can be easily moved between thestorage and sleeping positions by a single person. All of themanipulation is applied to the forward edge of the bed and the rear edgeof the bed can be located adjacent the end wall where it is not readilyaccessible.

The term cable as used in the specification and claims is intended tomean any flexible member, such as a chain, rope, straps, or the like. Inaddition, the terms ends" and side" as applied to the bed are usedinterchangeably and are not intended to designate the long and shortdimensions of the bed.

I claim:

1. A bed construction for a dwelling, comprising a supporting structure,a bed supported by the supporting structure and movable between an upperstorage position and a lower sleeping position, said bed having a frontside and a rear side and having a pair of ends connecting said front andrear sides, a pair of flexible support members interconnecting the bedand the sup porting structure, pivotal connecting means for connectingthe bed for vertical tilting movement with respect to said flexiblesupport members, said pivotal connecting means being located at the endsof the bed and spaced from the front and rear sides of the bed, firstsupport means connected to the supporting structure and located adjacentsaid upper position for supporting the rear side portion of the bed whenit is in the upper position, downward tilting of the forward side of thebed, when the bed is in the lower position, causing the bed to tiltabout said connecting means to thereby elevate the rear side to a levelabove the supporting means second support means for supporting the rearside portion of the bed when the bed is in the lower position, saidsecond support means interconnects the rear side portion of the bed andthe supporting structure, and locking means for locking the bed againstswinging movement when the bed is in the lower position.

2. The bed of claim 1, wherein said supporting structure includes a pairof spaced vertical walls disposed parallel to and adjacent said ends,and said support means comprises a support bar secured to each wall,said support bar having a length substantially less than thefront-to-rear dimension of the bed.

3. The bed of claim 1, wherein the distance between said pivotalconnecting means and the rear side of the bed is greater than thedistance between the upper and lower positions.

4. The bed of claim 1, wherein aaid connecting means is located betweenthe front side and the midpoint of the front-to-rear dimension of thebed.

5. The bed construction of claim 1, wherein said bed includes a seriesof spaced parallel beams extending parallel to said front and rearsides, a solid non-folding base member supported on the beams, and amatress mounted on said base member, the ends of the beam locatedadjacent the rear side of the bed disposed to rest on said first supportmeans when the bed is in the upper position.

6. The bed construction of claim 5, and including a facing membersecured to the front side of the bed, the upper edge of the facingmember extending to a level above the upper surface of the mattresswhereby the upper edge of the facing member will be located adjacent theceiling when the beds in the storage position and the mattress will notbe visible.

7. The bed construction of claim 5, and including a stop extendingupward from said first support means and spaced forwardly of the beamlocated adjacent the rear side of the bed, said stop preventing the bedwhen in its upper position from sliding forwardly from said firstsupport means.

i i i

1. A bed construction for a dwelling, comprising a supporting structure,a bed supported by the supporting sTructure and movable between an upperstorage position and a lower sleeping position, said bed having a frontside and a rear side and having a pair of ends connecting said front andrear sides, a pair of flexible support members interconnecting the bedand the supporting structure, pivotal connecting means for connectingthe bed for vertical tilting movement with respect to said flexiblesupport members, said pivotal connecting means being located at the endsof the bed and spaced from the front and rear sides of the bed, firstsupport means connected to the supporting structure and located adjacentsaid upper position for supporting the rear side portion of the bed whenit is in the upper position, downward tilting of the forward side of thebed, when the bed is in the lower position, causing the bed to tiltabout said connecting means to thereby elevate the rear side to a levelabove the supporting means second support means for supporting the rearside portion of the bed when the bed is in the lower position, saidsecond support means interconnects the rear side portion of the bed andthe supporting structure, and locking means for locking the bed againstswinging movement when the bed is in the lower position.
 2. The bed ofclaim 1, wherein said supporting structure includes a pair of spacedvertical walls disposed parallel to and adjacent said ends, and saidsupport means comprises a support bar secured to each wall, said supportbar having a length substantially less than the front-to-rear dimensionof the bed.
 3. The bed of claim 1, wherein the distance between saidpivotal connecting means and the rear side of the bed is greater thanthe distance between the upper and lower positions.
 4. The bed of claim1, wherein aaid connecting means is located between the front side andthe midpoint of the front-to-rear dimension of the bed.
 5. The bedconstruction of claim 1, wherein said bed includes a series of spacedparallel beams extending parallel to said front and rear sides, a solidnon-folding base member supported on the beams, and a matress mounted onsaid base member, the ends of the beam located adjacent the rear side ofthe bed disposed to rest on said first support means when the bed is inthe upper position.
 6. The bed construction of claim 5, and including afacing member secured to the front side of the bed, the upper edge ofthe facing member extending to a level above the upper surface of themattress whereby the upper edge of the facing member will be locatedadjacent the ceiling when the beds in the storage position and themattress will not be visible.
 7. The bed construction of claim 5, andincluding a stop extending upward from said first support means andspaced forwardly of the beam located adjacent the rear side of the bed,said stop preventing the bed when in its upper position from slidingforwardly from said first support means.